ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and his Egyptian counterpart Mostafa Madbouly on Thursday attended a forum in Baghdad, while overseeing the signing of 12 new agreements between both countries to strengthen cooperation.
The Iraqi-Egyptian Economic Forum was attended by over 300 business leaders from both countries.
In June 2023, Sudani led a high-level delegation to Cairo, signing several memorandums of understanding covering finance, trade, tourism, and other fields.
“Today, this cooperation was reinforced with the signing of 12 additional MoUs across various fields,” read a statement from Sudani’s office.
The statement detailed that the total value of contracts with Egyptian companies for infrastructure projects has exceeded 600 billion Iraqi dinars (over $450 million).
The statement highlighted that Sudani attributed comprehensive economic reforms—such as banking, administrative, tax, and investment policies—for allowing Egyptian companies to enter the Iraqi market and form key partnerships with the private sector.
Madbouly affirmed Egypt’s political and popular commitment to strengthening cooperation with Iraq.
Sudani reiterated Iraq’s strong foundations for cooperation with Egypt in economic, trade, developmental, cultural, and scientific fields.
In August, Sudani visited Egypt and met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Egyptian businessmen to attract investment opportunities to Iraq.
Iraq and Egypt share strong relations. Several tripartite meetings have been held between Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan in Baghdad since 2021, during which they have discussed cooperation in the fields of security, military, and intelligence.
The three countries agreed on closer economic cooperation in March 2019, when the first summit was held in Cairo.
